Shrimps face cost cutting drive

Andy Fleming centres for Morecambe.

Morecambe FC will continue to cut costs in a bid to get themselves back in the black.

The club, which won its first game of the calendar year against Southend United on Saturday, has announced losses of £800,000 last season which bosses hope to claw back by the summer of 2016 with a three-year plan.

According the club’s accounts up to June 2013, this will be achieved by a “significant reduction in costs and at the same time, where possible, maximising all income streams”.

The £793,776 deficit is up from £555,376 for the previous 12 months with the club increasingly reliant on loans from directors, principally chairman and majority shareholder Peter McGuigan, to maintain cashflow.

It is understood however the club value the true deficit for the 2012-2013 campaign at around £550,000 with around £100,000 accounted for in depreciation in the value of the Globe Arena and £160,000 on revaluation of some of the land surrounding the stadium.

They hope to have nearly halved that by the time the next accounts come around with between £200,000 and £250,000 having been cut from the wage bill last summer.

The windfall from this season’s televised Capital One Cup ties against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United – £100,000 per game from Sky – will also come into play.

Mr McGuigan said: “We have some exciting things coming up that we hope to announce in due course.

“I’m confident in the next year or two we’ll be breaking even.”Disappointing Globe Arena crowds continue to come under budget however.

But Mr McGuigan is confident that the move to their £12 million Westgate home back in 2010 is starting to pay dividends.

He said: “The Wright and Lord (hospitality) suite is looking good until the end of the season and we’re getting more sponsors signing up for our platinum package.

“What we don’t get is the people through the gate.

“We have one of the tightest budgets in the league and if we could get crowds of around 2,500 we would be making money and no-one else can say that.

“It’s down to us and the district to make sure we continue to be a League 2 club and can aim higher in the future.”

The accounts also reveal that the Shrimps’ debt stood at £2,416,535 as of June 2013, slightly down on the previous 12 months, with the majority owed to the club’s directors.

Income was down to £2,642,982 however compared with £2,761,851 in 2012.

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